Eastern Bloc Cycling Club

In reply to TheOtherJim

Thanks Jim! 7AM at Berkshire Hall ok? Pat

A big shout of thanks to everyone that came out to help with Brodie CX! Based on the feedback the event was a success, in very large part due the volunteer support. Our Friday afternoon team had the venue 95% set up the night before so that Saturday morning all we had to do was put up some tents and close some loops. Big thanks to Robert N, Tom W, Ron B, Eric L, Jeff C, “CX course wizard” John Tarbox and to Jan for bringing us hay bales and a last minute infusion of desperately needed course stakes.

Jeff set up and managed the volunteer page and he and Veronica took care of all the registration details Friday evening. We were put into a difficult situation with some junior series bib numbers which made this very challenging. They took this effort off my plate which allowed me to focus on other things. I can’t say thank you enough times.

One potential risk I was worried about was running out of parking space. Steven S, Jim M, and Al R, did an amazing job directing the parking. I heard of this from our town rec director, who wanted to know if they will be available for future events at the park 😀

Beth put her amazing EMBA skills to work as our volunteer coordinator, making sure we had people where we needed them to keep both the spectators and the racers safe. We have no injury reports to file from the event! A somewhat rare but very welcome experience.

Robert Newton, in addition to Friday setup, played a crucial role during the junior races where we needed to alter the course for different age groups.

Valerie and Tim were awesome and amazingly cool and calm throughout the morning registration frenzy. When they were almost overwhelmed by a surging tide of junior parents, day of and 1st timer registrations Veronica swooped in to help with the situation. Jeff and Veronica also handled afternoon registration and all of the necessary book keeping required for reg and results throughout the afternoon.

Chris A, Jamie S, Barry and Tara R, Patsy K, Steve K, Tom Q, Eric and Anna L, the Hughes Family, ERRACE’S Dave “Rusty” Rustico, and several area HS students were there to control the crossing stations at key points throughout the entire day. Lisa Waz helped organize the S’mores tent we set up for the juniors and oversaw the consumption of nearly three bags of marshmallows. I am praying that I am not missing anyone here but my brain is toast. Please chime in if I left anyone’s name off.

Steve K, Mark, Paul N, Tom Q, Patsy, Jeff all stuck around for course breakdown. I walked the course this morning and you almost can’t tell that there was a race there 14 hours earlier.

This was my first experience as a race promoter/director and a big takeaway for me is the realization that the success of an event like this can teeter on any of a number of details. Based on the feedback I am getting from the racers, spectators and the officials we were successful yesterday and I have our volunteers to thank for that.

With much humble gratitude I say thank you to all involved.

Pat

In reply to TheOtherJim

Going through my volunteer list I realized that I did not include Chris, Jamie, Barry and Tara in my post above. That has been updated!